Never Forgotten
by Jedula
Summary: Bella's been living a happy life, but what will happen when that one person comes back and threatens her happiness?
1. The Introduction

I stared intently at the car in front, trying to will it into moving simply by using my mind. Did these idiots at green lights not realise that the rest of us had places to be, or did they think that we actually _enjoyed_ being stuck behind them until they realised they could go, only to go through the pain of having to wait even more as the light changed back to red. The worst thing, though, was that I couldn't use my car horn to tell them to move because otherwise I would have woken up Renesmee, my three-year old daughter, but it wouldn't have mattered because she woke up anyway because of everyone _else's_ car horns.

"Mommy," she whimpered to me, "I want some juice." Great, _now_ she wants juice, not ten minutes ago when we were at the store.

"You'll just have to wait until we get home, sweetheart," I said patiently, but I knew my daughter and she wouldn't rest until she got her juice. However, since we weren't moving, it looked like it was going to be a long wait with a screaming toddler in the car.

"But I want it now!" Renesmee had been in the 'now' stage for about 2 months now, and every single moment of it had nearly sent me over the edge. Even though I constantly get told by my father, Charlie, that she was taking after her mother, it didn't make this stage of her development anymore precious to me.

"We'll be home soon..." Yeah, at the moment I wasn't holding out much hope for getting home before Christmas, and it was September now.

"No! Now!" She shrieked painfully and started to scream, which was just great, because now it meant that she wouldn't be quiet until she got her juice, and even though the traffic was beginning to move, it would be at least another ten minutes before we got home. Fortunately, the traffic moved swiftly, and I was home within the ten minutes, by which time Renesmee had tired herself out with all her _adorable_ screaming and was now ready for her mid-day nap. Gently, I picked her up, so as I didn't wake her and make her scream for juice again, and placed her in her crib. It was a beautiful wooden thing that had been in the family for generations, and when my husband had suggested that we buy a new one, I was horrified at the thought of our little baby sleeping in a mass-produced plastic thing, when we could use one that was handmade with heart. It didn't take much for him to come round, just saying that he was happy if I was happy, which is also known as the easy way out, or how to avoid an argument.

Once all the groceries had been put away, I went to check on Renesmee, who was still sleeping peacefully. Her perfectly formed big blonde curls framed her face, and her long eyelashes helped to hide her sparkling blue eyes; sometimes, it was hard to believe that something so beautiful came from someone as ordinary as me.

I became so engrossed in watching her sleep, that I didn't realise how late it was until I heard a car coming into the driveway. Snapping out of my trance, I made my way to the front door so I could greet my husband.

"Hey sweetheart," he called to me as he made his way towards the door. As soon as he reached me, he gave me a kiss and wrapped his arms tightly around me.

"Hey Jake."


	2. The Memories

After what felt like an impossibly long hug, we went inside the house, where I started dinner and Jake went to wake Renesmee up, a dangerous task at the best of times because once she was asleep, she liked to stay asleep until _she_ decided it was time to wake up – definitely in the more selfish stage of growing up, and yet I adored this child with all my heart. Love really does seem to do peculiar things to people.

Fortunately, today was one of Renesmee's less moody days, and she was out of her crib and into her high-chair with as little fuss as you can get with a three-year old.

"Mommy," she started, "where's my juice?" Ah, the quiet didn't last for long then. This time, however, I was prepared, and the juice was in her hands within 20 seconds. Somewhere between slurps, she managed to gurgle a 'thank you' my way. At least she had more manners than some people I knew...

However, I was quickly taken out of my thoughts when Jake walked into the kitchen. "Need any help?" To be honest, I'm not sure why he bothered to ask, seeing as we both knew that he was nearly incapable of stepping into a kitchen without burning something, and since we barely had enough food to last us for the week, I didn't want to take that risk.

"No thanks, it's nearly ready anyway," I replied as I turned back to the dinner, making some last-minute additions before serving it, giving Jake double portions since his food always seemed to go quicker than should have been humanly possible. "So how was work?" I asked him once we were sat down.

"It was good," he managed to say in between giant mouthfuls, "had a lot of cars come in today. I really think the business is starting to get off the ground now." Jake had had a passion for restoring cars since he was about 10, when Billy had been unable to fix their broken car; soon after, it became his favourite pastime, and as soon as he had enough money saved up, opened a garage close to the reservation border. Sure, business was slow at first, and we found things hard, especially since we had to think about buying all the baby stuff at the same time, but eventually word spread and Jake has been working flat-out ever since. Sadly, most of the time it means when he comes home, it's late and he's exhausted, which puts a strain on our relationship...but it'll soon pass. That's what I always tell myself.

"Well, that was delicious," Jake commented before standing up from the table. Somehow, I managed to get so lost in my thoughts that dinner had finished without me even realising. Looking down at my plate of untouched food, my appetite seemed to diminish pretty fast, and the food went in the bin, along with the rest of the night.

After I had eventually gotten Renesmee to sleep for the night, I went to join Jake in the living room on the couch, where he was watching some game – which sport, I wasn't sure. I lay on the remaining couch space, leaning my head on his shoulder, hoping that he would get the hint, but I guess he didn't as we were like that for five minutes, so I attempted to make my hints a little less... _subtle_. Softly, I began to kiss along his jaw line, beginning at his ear and making my way down until I reached his lips, kissing at the edges of his mouth before moving onto his lips, waiting for them to part. To my surprise, however, he pushed me off of him while saying "Please, I'm trying to watch this." I moved back into my seat, feeling dejected at my failed attempt, but Jake didn't seem to notice, and when I left the room a few minutes later, he didn't even give me so much as a glance back. Since I had nothing else to do, I gave up any hope of having physical relations with my husband that night and went to sleep, where I let my mind wander to a time where everything felt so much easier...

xxx

_We had been 'innocently' sitting on a bench in the park when it started to rain heavily – without even realising, he had grabbed my hand and we were making a run for the car, even though I was pretty certain neither of us would have minded staying in the rain. Opening the car door, he jumped in, before pulling me onto his lap and closing the door behind us. Almost instantly, he was kissing at my neck and had his hands under my top, making me jump when I realised just how cold my body was. I became so engrossed with what his mouth was doing to me, that I nearly didn't realise it when he tried to lift my top up._

"_Wait," I said while pulling away by placing my hands on his chest, "we can't do it here. People will see us."_

"_Well that never stopped you before..." He mumbled from somewhere close to my ear, making it even harder for me to concentrate. "Besides, your top's soaked, and I don't want you catching a cold."_

_I believed his concern for me was genuine, but his plan did have some obvious flaws. "Okay then, but what do you suggest I wear instead, because I'm not going to sit here in just my bra while I wait for my top to dry." He chuckled softly to himself and placed a kiss on my cheek._

"_Since you don't like _that _idea, you'll have to wear this then." He leant over to the back seat and grabbed his hooded sweater for me. Quickly, I changed out of my top and into the sweater, savouring the scent of it – it was an almost indescribable combination of all the things that just made him unique and mine._

_Once I was changed, he stroked my hair, never letting his gaze leave mine, causing me to fall deep into his eyes. "I love you Isabella Swan," his voice purred softly, which made me come close to being breathless._

_Leaning in for a kiss, I whispered back to him "I love you too Edward Cullen."_

xxx

Suddenly I found myself sitting upright in bed, gasping for air as I tried to get my breath back, and as I slowly let my eyes adjust to the light in the room, I saw Jake by the door.

"Where are you going?" It couldn't have been soon past 2AM.

"I got a call, there's a breakdown just north of the border," he said listlessly while running his hand through his hair, causing it to stand up in all directions. It didn't suit him; it made him look like a teenage boy that didn't have much care for personal appearance.

"Okay," I yawned, "don't be too long."

He grabbed the door handle, and left me with the now infamous parting words of "I'll try," before closing the door gently behind him.

For a moment, I thought about checking up on Renesmee, but thought better of it, as my clumsiness would more than likely wake her up, and I don't think the neighbours would be too pleased with being woken by my screaming child once more. So instead, I put my head against the pillow, and looking at the ceiling, I said a silent prayer that the rest of my night's sleep would be undisturbed by memories of the past.

xxx

_I couldn't bear to look at myself ever since he left – I just felt like I must be such a huge reject for it to happen to me. All around my eyes were sore from the amount of crying I'd been doing, and it felt like I wouldn't be able to shed another tear, but not because of how much my eyes hurt; everywhere inside of me just felt so empty, like I'd actually been physically connected to him, and when he left, he ripped all of it out of me._

"_Bells?" Jake shouted from somewhere in the distance, before coming over and joining me on the bench. The same bench which, mere months ago, me and Edward had been on the same day that we said 'I love you' to each other for the first time. But why should this bench mean anything to me now, when the sentiment cherished by millions was clearly a lie? It wasn't even like we said it on this bench._

"_He lied to me," I muttered to myself, not intending for anyone else to here. However, it seemed like Jake had supernatural hearing powers, and he instantly wrapped his arms tightly, maybe a little too tightly, around me._

_We sat like that for a while, with him trying to comfort me by telling me not to cry whilst stroking my hair. Even more memories flooded back to my mind, and every moment of it was still held dear to my heart. Or at least, what was left of it. With every stroke of my hair, my mind played back every detail of that day...even the part where I put on his sweater and said his scent always reminded me why he was mine. _Was _mine, but now he wasn't mine to hold and kiss and tell 'I love you' to._

_We sat in silence for a short time after that, before Jake dared to speak. "He was never good enough for you, you know. I don't know how you let him treat you like dirt for so long." How _dare_ he speak of Edward like that – he may have broken my heart, but that doesn't mean that I cared for him any less._

"_I did it because I loved him," I snarled back at him, hoping that he would get the hint and back the hell off, but instead he got himself even deeper into the shit he'd caused._

"_But that didn't mean a thing to him." I was fuming by that point, and about ready to punch him in his sorry little face, but his next words stopped me dead in my tracks. "Bella, you know I love you, and unlike that creep, I'll never leave you." All the blood in my body seemed to run cold. The only other person who'd ever said that to me had hurt me beyond belief, and I never wanted to take that risk with anyone again._

"_I have to go now." I quickly stood up, releasing myself from Jake's death grip, and ran back home, never looking back once; I just wanted to be able to drown in my own self-pity, hoping that it would mean no-one would ever be able to come close enough to me to hurt me again._


End file.
